Worcester, MA – The Worcester Red Sox, paced by a pair of home runs from Kristian Campbell, broke out of their recent offensive slump to outslug the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, 13-10 on Sunday afternoon at Polar Park. Campbell and Romy Gonzalez led the Sox 12-hit attack with 3 hits apiece. Campbell, playing rightfield, was 3-for-4 with 2 HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB, and 3 runs scored while Gonzalez, playing first base, went 3-for-4 with 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, and 4 runs scored.
With the third straight sell-out crowd watching (9,182 fans), Worcester built a 10-2 lead, withstood Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s 7-run, 6th inning, and held on for a wild win on the final Sunday in August.
The WooSox (30-26, 66-61) earned a split of the 6-game series between the Red Sox and Yankee Triple-A affiliates, putting a bow on Worcester’s penultimate homestand of the season. Worcester’s final homestand of the year at Polar Park will be a 6-game series vs. the Durham Bulls from September 15-20.
Campbell put the WooSox ahead with a solo HR (#6) into the third row of the Worcester Wall in right field with one out in the 2nd inning. It was only Worcester’s second homer of the 6-game series (Roman Anthony HR last Tuesday) and was just the second WooSox home run in their last 10 games. Campbell would add to that number in his next at-bat by crushing a 3-run HR (#7) high off the centerfield batter’s eye (414 feet) in the 5th inning to extend the Worcester lead to 10-2.
The RailRiders responded in a big way pounding 4 home runs during a 7-run, 6th inning to cut the WooSox lead from 10-2 to 10-9 in an instant. Scranton/WB 1B Tyler Hardman started the barrage with a 3-run HR off Devin Sweet before DH Ernesto Martinez Jr. went back-to-back with a solo shot off Osvaldo Berrios. After an out, 3B Anthony Volpe drilled a solo HR, Jason Dominguez doubled, and 2B Marco Luciano walloped a long 2-run HR over everything in the left and all of a sudden it was just a 1-run WooSox lead at 10-9.
The WooSox added 2 runs to their advantage in the 7th on back-to-back bases loaded walks by Allan Castro and Brett Harris. Volpe smoked his second homer in as many at-bats in the 8th to make it a 12-10, but Gonzalez answered with a solo HR (#2) over the Worcester Wall in the 8th to make the final, 13-10.
The WooSox had their own big inning in the 3rd when they strung together 6-hits for 6-runs to erase a 2-1 deficit and grab a 7-2 lead after 3 innings. 3B Vinny Capra started the bottom of the 3rd with a sharp single, catcher Nate Baez walked, and 2B Franklin Arias laid down a perfect bunt for a hit to load the bases. SS Isiah Kiner-Falefa, the lone remaining Red Sox rehabber after a week of Roman Stories at Polar Park, wasted no time in jumping on the first pitch and lining a 2-run single into left field to regain the lead, 3-2. IKF finished 1-for-3 with those 2 RBI along with a run scored. After an out, Gonzalez crushed a 2-run double high off the left field wall to score two more runs and with two outs, 1B Harris brought home two more with a 2-run single to cap the uprising
Scranton/WB had 17 hits off seven WooSox pitchers as Volpe, Dominguez, and J.C. Escarra all had 3 hits apiece.
Max Carlson, just up from Double-A Portland, made his Triple-A debut and got credit for the victory allowing 2 runs over 3 innings. Hobie Harris worked a scoreless 9th inning for his 3rd save.
During their customary Monday off-day to end the month of August tomorrow, the WooSox will actually get on the road to Buffalo, NY in advance of opening a two-city, 12-game roadtrip to begin the month of September. The Sox will be in Buffalo for 6-games vs. the Bisons from September 1-6 and then head to Allentown, PA for a 6-game series against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs from September 8-13 to conclude their road schedule.
Tuesday’s game in Buffalo begins at 6:05 pm and can be heard on NASH 98.9 FM The Pike 100.1 FM, and the rest of the WooSox Radio Network with Jim Cain and Alex Jensen on the call.